Triple threat: Sabrina Ionescu needed just 48 games to break the NCAA's career triple double record; the previous record holder took 128 to set the old mark.
Last year, the Oregon women’s basketball team suffered a number of early defeats, including an 0-3 start in Pac-12 play and an 0-3 finish to the regular season, but caught fire in the postseason and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament, and then upended No. 2-seed Duck and No. 3-seed Maryland in the NCAA Tournament before falling to powerhouse UConn in the Elite Eight.
That scorching finish to the season set high expectations for the 2017–18 team, and so far, those expectations have been met: the Ducks finished January atop the Pac-12 standings and ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 poll.
A large part of Oregon’s success is due to sophomores Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard. Ionescu, the 2017 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, broke the NCAA career triple doubles record in a December win over the Washington Huskies, notching her eighth in just her 48th game—it took the previous record holder 128 to achieve seven. While Ionescu’s 19.5 points and 7.6 assists per game lead the Ducks—and the entire Pac-12—Hebard leads the team in rebounds, with 122, and blocks, with 32, and is in the top-10 in the Pac-12 in both categories.
The team signed three hugely talented newcomers during the offseason: forward Satou Sabally, from Berlin, Germany, the top international prospect in her class and the Ducks’ third-leading scorer; Anneli Maley, a guard from Melbourne, Australia; and Aina Ayuso, a guard from Sant Just Desvern, Spain. The trio joined Erin Boley, who previously played for Notre Dame and is sitting out the season due to NCAA transfer regulations.
This season has seen the Ducks firmly establish themselves among the nation’s elite. The win over Washington, which gave Ionescu the NCAA triple double record, was head coach Kelly Graves’ 500th victory. In January, the Ducks ended a 14-game losing streak against OSU, and beat the Beavers by 12 points during the 100th meeting of the women’s basketball Civil War. The team finished the first month of 2018 undefeated at home with 20 victories overall, including a 5-3 mark against ranked teams.
The men, meanwhile, have struggled to match last year’s success.
During the 2016–17 season they won the Pac-12 regular season title before advancing to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to eventual national champions North Carolina. But any chance of a repeat of 2017’s success was hampered when junior Jordan Bell (Chicago Bulls; traded to Golden State Warriors), sophomore Tyler Dorsey (Atlanta Hawks), and junior Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets, traded to Memphis Grizzlies), left school early and were second-round picks in the NBA draft; when combined with senior Chris Boucher, who went undrafted in the NBA draft but was signed by the defending NBA champion Warriors, the team lost its four top scorers, two top blockers, and leading stealer.
To compensate for the depleted roster, the team signed five freshmen: forwards Troy Brown, Kenny Wooten, and Abu Kigab, and guards Victor Bailey Jr. and Will Johnson. The Ducks also gained two transfers in MiKyle McIntosh, who withdrew his name from NBA Draft consideration and signed with the Ducks instead; and Elijah Brown, formerly of the University of New Mexico. While at New Mexico, Brown scored an average of 20.9 points per game, making him one of the nation’s top scorers--an important attribute, considering no returning player averaged more than 3.2 points per game last year.
The recruiting class was ranked No. 11 in the nation by Scout, an impressive feat—but not as impressive as head coach Dana Altman’s 2018 class, which sits at No. 1 in the nation. But before five-star players Bol Bol (son of former NBA star Manute) and Louis King can take to the court in Matthew Knight Arena, there’s the small matter of this season.
The Ducks’ only returning starter is sophomore Payton Pritchard, who won bronze with the USA Men’s U19 team last year, and leads the team in points, assists, and steals. The team, constructed around Pritchard, transfers, and freshmen, has struggled to find balance and build cohesion. The Ducks went 1-2 in the PK80 Invitational in November, with a win over DePaul sandwiched between losses to UConn and Oklahoma. A five-game win streak in December saw the team gather momentum before beginning conference play, but they dropped their Pac-12 opener at home to Utah.
However, the new year saw the young team begin to gel. A road win over No. 11 Arizona State was followed by a narrow loss at No. 17 Arizona, and the Ducks closed out January with a pair of conference wins. The January 20 victory over UCLA perhaps signaled a change in fortune; the Bruins narrowed an eighteen-point lead over the final four minutes, but in the final seconds Pritchard made four free throws to seal the 94-91 win. In the same game, Altman became the third men’s basketball coach to achieve 200 victories with the Ducks, joining Ernie Kent (235) and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Howard Hobson (212)—head coach of the 1939 NCAA champion Tall Firs—to reach that mark.
"It shows growth for sure," said McIntosh. "The last games we were fouling and making bonehead decisions in the last four minutes of the game, the last minute. I think it shows growth and the team coming together, listening to coach. Even though some things didn't go our way, we ended up pulling it out.”
- Abby Keep, UO student
Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament Pep Rally Information
Women’s Pep Rally
Saturday, March 3 ● 2:00–5:00 p.m.
Sport Restaurant and Bar
140 4th Ave N. #130
Seattle WA 98109
Men’s Pep Rally
Friday, March 9 ● 2:00–5:00 p.m.
Buffalo Wild Wings
3663 S. Las Vegas Blvd #600
Las Vegas NV 89109